Help get Andrew Tear's self-build over the line

Aim

Andrew is on the final stretch of his eco self-build project. With costs rising, he needs your help to bring this long-held dream into being

Andrew - the avowed life-long anticapitalist - needs some capital. To help me finish my selfbuild eco-house. For most of my adult life I’ve dreamt of building my own house - to high environmental standards but as simply as possible. And fundamentally, the idea of a house not only built with my own hands, but with the input of friends, family and the wider community is what this project is all about. I’m on the home straight. But I need your help to get the project over line!

I’d first become interested in the idea when building simple structures in India and it grew from there. There had been potential moments along the way, but it wasn’t until I was 65 that I really got the opportunity. A friend had lent me books about the Walter Segal post-and-beam method of building timber framed houses and I felt that even at my age (I’m now 77!) I could do this. I had built a one-story timber-framed deck at my housing co-op house, went on a weekend course, and felt ready to start. I was keen to build a house that was as sustainable as possible, and intended to do most of the work myself by hand, avoiding fossil fuels and embedded carbon. To be clear, this means avoiding power tools as much as I can - hand sawing each piece of wood as I go.

In 2019 a plot of land was earmarked next to the Chaco co-housing project, half a mile down the road from where I live now. I had inherited a small amount of money from my mum, so all looked hopeful. Unfortunately Covid intervened and the land wasn’t cleared for sale until 2024. By this time building costs had gone up dramatically (which I’ll return to later). 

In June 2023 I started clearing and readying the site. It took a long time to level and dig the twelve pits on which the house would stand - all hand dug to reduce the embedded carbon in the house. By early spring 2025 my friend John and I were making the frames with local (ish) Scottish Borders Douglas Fir and Larch. The frame raising was on the weekend of May 4th  (appropriately my mother's birthday) when, for three days, 25 people each day hauled up the four frames (see pics). As I say, this sort of thing had been at the centre of my vision for the project. Yes, a self-build with me doing as much as possible myself, but also an opportunity to bring friends and the wider community together to be a part of this DIY journey. 

With diagonals to brace the frames, things took off, with the floor joists and ceiling joists all being cut and put in place.  And then with another load of Scottish Borders Larch, the wood for roof rafters was cut and installed, and by November 2025 the roof structure was in place. In January 2026, the roofer and PV solar company had the roof covered with 24 solar panels (each 420W) (see pics).

Relatively things had moved quite quickly. I’m now in the midst of securing the walls. So, we’re on the home straight. The insulation, windows and doors are still to be put in. Some money for these is in place but, with prices rising significantly over the past few years, not enough. 

This is where I need your help. I’m aiming to raise £30,000 via this crowdfunder, which would help me get these key features - insulation, windows and doors - bought and installed in the coming months. Without this money, there’s the heartbreaking potential that all of this hard work over the last 7 years goes to waste. I hope you’ll join me on this journey.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 29th June 2026 at 12:58pm